


after the embers that ruined our home

by Japo_Chan23



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bittersweet Ending, Ganon is WW Ganon, Gen, Ghost Shenanigans, Light Angst, Mainly HW, Originally for NANO but im weak lmao, Post-Canon, btw Link is dead lol, i guess idk lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27483073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Japo_Chan23/pseuds/Japo_Chan23
Summary: He was seventeen when he joined the military, with the Royal Family and rest of the military believing that he was actually an adult.Link is eighteen when a battle broke out in the courtyard during training, and there was knight who was engulfed in flames.Link is twenty, and seven months later they find and defeat Cia.Link is twenty one when he gets promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard.Link is almost twenty two when Ganondorf attacks the castle.Link was almost twenty two when he died.
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

The first thing that Link notices is that his body hurt, and his vision was swimming.

The second thing that Link notices is that his head was killing him. It felt like it was caved in on itself, like his skull was suddenly way too small for his brain. He nearly  _ screamed _ when he woke up, hands clutching his hair as he gasped loudly. It  _ hurt _ and he doesn't he remember  _ why _ .

He remembers when he was sixteen, leaving his village to continue his training in Castle Town. Remembers how he lived off of scraps and stole as he continued to train for a year in a dojo, where he slept in the closet with permission from his teacher. He remembers when he was seventeen, when he decided that he was tired of the way he was living, and lied about his age and forged documentation.

He changed his name, his family name forgotten. Now he was just... Link. Said he was always an orphan, that he had lived off the streets of Castle Town for as long as he remembered, and only enlisted into the army when he was of age so that he could finally contribute as a working member of society. Link thinks that maybe he could've gone to Kakariko and found some work there, but at least if he was in the military he could have something to die for.

Granted, he didn't really like the soldiers that he saw roaming the streets at night whenever Link was looking for something to eat.

He was seventeen when he joined the military, with the Royal Family and rest of the military believing that he was actually an adult.

Link was eighteen when he was training and a battle broke out in the courtyard, and there was knight who was engulfed in flames.

He met a lot of people in the military. He met a man named Leif that he talked and trained with every night, and Lana became his closest friend when the war actually began.

It turned out that she was seventeen as well. They both pretended that they didn't know what age they were exactly, and when Sheik came by out of nowhere one day, Link wasn't gonna deny that he tried to hook up with the Sheikah.

Although Impa seemed really suspicious of Sheik, so Link didn't even try anymore after he caught Impa glaring at him.

Lana made fun of him and then  _ she _ started to flirt with Sheik, so Link was devastated.

That is until Midna showed up and Lana would talk to him about her crush on the Twili, so Link started to flirt with Midna just to get back at Lana.

Link backed off when Midna started crying out of nowhere and saying something about a mirror and her ex. He wasn't going to touch that so he didn't. Lana called him an asshole though, but how was he supposed to know that he reminded Midna of her ex?

Link is twenty, and seven months later they find and defeat Cia. He thinks that the war is over, and he thinks he's going to be okay. Lana didn't speak for a week afterwards, and she stayed behind for a few days before going to Castle Town and finding Link.

He remembered that they snuck out and had a funeral for Cia. Her body kind of... dissolved into light, so they didn't really have anything to bury, so Lana had actually cut off her ponytail and buried it by a tree. She look a lot more like Cia afterwards, and they both stayed quiet the rest of the night.

Cia may have been misguided and had poor judgement, but she still deserved some respect after her death. It wasn't her fault that when she and Lana separated to become their own individuals, she ended up with the more obsessive and impulsive thoughts.

Lana was sensible, reasonable, down to Earth. Cia wasn't. But Cia was still like Lana's sister, and Link wasn't going to hold her back.

They don't speak of the funeral, and when he sees Lana leave the walls of Castle Town, he doesn't comment on it, already knowing where she was going.

There was peace for awhile. And Link was glad for it.

Link is twenty one when he gets promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard.

The former captain retired, and when he gets promoted from a soldier to Captain, well, he was a little disappointment. He didn't mind the title, but he had less free time now that he was promoted.

Less free time, less time to talk to Lana, less time to himself. Less time to be his own person.

Link wished he denied the position sometimes.

Link is almost twenty two when Ganondorf attacks the castle.

Link was woken up in the middle of the night to embers lighting the skies and people running, the normally quiet and peaceful streets of Castle Town now filled with chaos and panic as Hylians fled their homes, and every now and then he sees a horse storm past him.

The Captain was caught off guard when he was attacked from behind by Ganondorf. And his piece of the Triforce was one again stolen, and once again he felt like he a fundamental part of his being was ripped from him. There was too much going on, too much of him was  _ gone _ , and when he found out later on that earlier that night Zelda's piece of the Triforce was taken as well, Link felt like he failed at his job.

They had retreated once Ganondorf had taken their piece of the Triforce. Link doesn't know what Ganondorf planned to do with the Triforce, but he didn't really want to find out.

No one really cares about what he wants, thought.

It was fortnite before something actually happened.

Ganondorf had came back to the castle, and taken over. Link had taken Ganondorf on, one on one. Link remembers shoving Ganondorf against the ground, Master Sword going through the Gerudo's chest, hilt almost reaching Ganondorf's armor, and Link glared down at the man, sweat dripping off of his face, breath intermingling with Ganondorf's.

"Give it  _ back _ ," Link screamed at Ganondorf, his right forearm resting against the ground by Ganondorf's head. " _ Ganondorf _ . Give me back what is rightfully  _ mine.” _

And Link remembers seeing the man laugh, and he remembers blacking out for a moment, before there was a giant beast in front of him, wrecking the town and trying to damage the castle and the walls that surrounded them.

Link rubs his head. He can't remember the rest of the fight, at least. Not as clearly as he remembered everything else.

There was a purple gem that was embedded into Ganon's forehead. That was where he needed to go. Obviously.

He has a vague memory of using his hookshot to bring himself up to Ganon's head, the hookshot wrapping around Ganon's horns. He tried to throw Link off multiple times, bashing Link against the crumbling walls, and Link thinks that his body is broken.

He had a rush of adrenaline as he climbed up to where the gem was, and when Ganon had paused to take a breath, that was when Link attacked, slashing at the gem.

When he finally stabbed his sword into the gem, Ganon had managed to throw him off.

He thinks that maybe he temporarily blacked out again, thinks that maybe he managed to actually defeat Ganondorf, managed to finally go back to how everything used to be.

When he was just Link. When he would just talk to Lana when the sun went down and then train when he woke up as the sun came up.

And he thinks that maybe that that was what happened. That he had passed out after he killed Ganon, that he was brought someone to heal and sleep, and that maybe after he fell off of Ganon someone had seen him.

And Link thinks, that maybe, just maybe, the pounding in his head right now was just a concussion.

But the more he tries to remember what exactly happened, the more he realizes that things probably turned out a lot worse than he expected.

He remembers getting thrown off of Ganon. And he realizes, that he didn't black immediately.

Ganon had fallen, and threw Link off of his head with a shriek. And Link remembered watching as Ganon tried to remove the Master Sword from its place in his head, jumping around and scraping his head against the walls and the ground, trying to displace it.

And Link could barely even get up. His adrenaline had worn off. His head was pounding, his chest  _ ached _ and whenever he moved he felt like his body was on fire. He thinks that maybe his leg was broken as well.

So, Link watched through eyes that were barely opened.

And he remembers that the last thing he saw was Ganon barely breathing, and the beast turned to stare at Link, and with a final huff, Link saw the bottom of Ganon's hoof as the beast took its last step.

That's what happened. His skull, well, his entire  _ body _ was crushed.

He was dead. So was Ganon. They were both dead now.

He doesn't... Link isn't really sure where is is, actually. Everything  _ looks _ the same, but he doesn't really understand why it all felt off. Most likely because he was  _ dead _ but he still wasn't sure.

Groaning loudly, Link rubbed his eyes. They were pretty sore too. "Okay. Okay you're okay, not really because you're dead, but you're okay, you're okay, just need to figure this out, totally didn't-" Link paused in his rambling, before screaming loudly. " _ Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck." _

Link was almost twenty two when he died. 


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was going down.

There wasn't anything Link considered doing. He followed people around for a little bit with nothing better to do, but granted, he wished that he could actually find something to do besides just follow everyone around.

Sometimes he thinks he sees other ghosts, but he's not really sure about it.

He thinks that maybe there was a man with charred black skin and orange flaming hair that scowls at him from a distance in his peripheral vision, but when Link actually turns to take a better look at the man, he always seemed to disappear.

It was strange, and Link didn't really want to spend too much of his thoughts on it. If whoever he saw really wanted to actually speak to him. Maybe whoever was looking at him was like... crushing on him. Too bad he didn't like burnt meat. He was more of a medium rare kind of guy.

"Are you lost?"

Link's brows furrowed, and he turned to look at who spoke to him.

It was a little girl with fiery hair. She was at his shoulders, and she tilted her head, studying him. "I'm... I'm sorry, what's your name?" Link whispers, crouching slightly so that he was at eye level with her. They were in the middle of Castle Town, and people were passing by them (or sometimes passing  _ through _ him), paying no mind whatsoever to him. It was unsettling.

This kid staring up at him was getting pretty unsettling too, with wide eyes and small hands that reached for Link's. "I don't remember. I think I'm lost too." She looks around, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear. "It's been awhile. Dad said a hero was supposed come save us, but then our home got flooded and then I woke up on an island."

"You're not from Hyrule, are you?"

"Maybe not." The child shrugs as she looks around. "This place hasn't looked familiar in awhile. I thought it was all flooded, then something happened so I went to bed for a little bit, but when I woke up again there was a drought and all the water was gone ."

Link watches as a Zora woman walked through him, shivering as she passed him, and his lips pulled down into a frown at the action, before bringing his attention back to the girl with red hair. "You don't know how long you've been here?"

"No... have you seen my dad anywhere by any chance?"

"I haven't, no, I'm sorry, I-" He bit his lip, eyes darting for a moment. He wanted to go visit Lana for a little bit. With a sigh, he stood up, holding a hand out for the kid. "Alright, I'll go help you find your dad. You got a name?"

"Marin."

"Well Marin, let's go have a look around, alright?"

"Okay." Marin nods, and her eyes crinkle slightly as she grins widely up at Link. She grabs onto his hand, beginning to walk in the direction towards Hyrule Castle. Well, what was left of it, anyways. Some of the castle was still standing, but most of it was destroyed during the final battle with Ganon.

They were still rebuilding the castle and the surrounding walls, though, as well as the town. Every street he walked down, there was always some Hylians and Gorons that helped rebuild the town.

Link can't help but think about how much...  _ repairing _ that had to be done for Hyrule.

He knows that the Great Deku Tree had burned down to ash. There was a seed that was left over, a sprout that would soon take over for the tree. Lana tried to explain to him the importance of the Great Deku Tree one day, but he could barely remember anything about it.

Link never talked to the Great Deku Tree, but he thinks that during Lana's short existence she spent most of the time talking to him. Link just wished that he took the time to actually explore Hyrule before the war.

He remembers what it was like the night it happened. When embers filled the night sky and ash stained the bottom of their shoes with every step they took, blood caked on the grass and wooden bridges that connected everything together.

Everyone was silent around what was left of the Great Deku Tree, the bark charred black with ash decorating the wood that surrounded, bodies of their foes littered the ground.

Link didn't want to tell anyone that when night fell, he would occasionally go out and try to bury as many bodies as he could before his limbs grew tired and he was overcome with fatigue. They were on the opposing side of war, sure, but that didn't mean they didn't have families of their owns somewhere. He didn't know them, and they didn't know him. He didn't have any right to assume that they were all horrible people like Ganondorf.

To be fair, Cia wasn't... that bad of a person either, in theory. The nature of herself just didn't give her the chance to try and be better before her untimely demise.

Link tries not to think about Cia telling Lana that she did all of this for other half and not for herself.

"Marin do you know how long you've been..." Link winces externally, waving his hand slightly. "Uhhh, dead?"

Marin tilts her head. "Hm. I haven't really thought about it," she says with a shrug. She takes the hibiscus flower out from her hair, fiddling with the stem for a moment, face scrunching up slightly. "I think... I think it might've been a few hundred years, actually."

"Jeez." Link pushes his bangs back, revealing his forehead for just a moment before letting his hair drop back down. "I think it's been a day or so, but I died recently. Well, more recently than I think since they're still rebuilding."

"Do you think people miss you?"

Link gives Marin a half-shrug. "Only the important ones."

She tilts her head. "Who would that be?"

He looks up at the sun, briefly stunned at the fact that his retinas didn't feel like they were burning from him looking at it directly. He hums loudly, tapping at his chin for a moment. "I think Lana would. At least, I hope she does. Maybe the Princess?" He rubs the back of his head, fingers threading smoothly through his blonde locks. "I didn't really know her or Impa that well though."

Marin frowns. "You don't have any family?"

"Uh, well," he clicks his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and he thinks that maybe his family  _ does _ miss him, or at least, always have missed him. He didn't exactly tell them he was leaving for Castle Town. "I like to think they miss me?" His voice pitched higher slightly towards the end of his sentence, visibly wincing. "It's complicated. I haven't seen them since I was sixteen."

Marin tucks the flower back into her hair, and she hums a small tune for a moment as they pass a booth filled with sweets. She steps towards it, hands clasped behind her back, and Link watches as she visibly relaxes, breathing in deeply.

"You got a sweet tooth?" Link chuckles, stepping close to her. The vendor was off towards the side, a customer trying to barter with him. Link wasn't going to lie when he said that he would often snatch a little something extra whenever he actually  _ did _ pay for something with the little money he had before he joined the army.

The redhead giggles, turning to Link with a smile. "We never really had any sort of candy or pastries where I grew up. I didn't really grow up in a well-off area, and when I was on the island sugar and other things like that were rare. I remember when a stranger showed up on my beach and he introduced me to chocolate." Her smile wavered for a quick moment, and Link considered changing the topic for a brief moment. "He introduced me to a lot of things. He was going to get me off my island one day too." Marin's brow furrowed, and her smile almost smell, but there was still a small upturn to her lips as her eyes water.

"Do you mind if I ask what happened to him?" Link whispers, glancing at Marin before turning his attention back to sweets that laid in front of them. He went to grab a bag of chocolate covered strawberries, exhaling harshly through his nose when his fingers simply went through the plastic, grabbing at nothing.

This time Marin gave him the half shrug. "He ended up leaving without me. He said he was going to wake up with Wind Fish, that when he came back down from the mountain he would finally take me off Koholint and show me all the places he's ever been to. Hyrule, Labrynna, he even promised to explain the world with me .But he never came down from the mountain." Marin pauses, biting her lip. "He just... left me on the Island."

Link gave out a low whistle. "That's..." Link rubs his forehead, letting out a small groan. "I'm sorry that you had to go through something like that. I feel like an asshole asking about that, but what's a Wind Fish?"

Marin gave him another shrug. "Maybe next time. I'm not so sure myself on what it is. Maybe I can tell you next time we're out?"

"Okay. Sounds like a date then." Link smiled, before freezing in place. His thought process suddenly paused, and he thought back to what he had just said to Marin, not fully thinking processing their entire conversation up until this moment, apparently.

He had never wanted to slap himself  _ so bad. _ "Fucking Hylia- I am  _ so _ sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out  _ at all _ , that was so rude of me, especially since we just met and you were trying to tell me about your boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, I'm not really sure what he is to you? I was a little confused about that part and now I'm rambling, but I'm so sorry that was so uncalled for, I'm such an asshole, I should just go now, actually-"

Link only paused in his rambling when Marin bursted out laughing, snorting every now and then, her red curls bouncing as her smile reached her eyes. Link felt his cheeks aflame, becoming a bright pink, and he placed his hand against his face, feeling the warmth. His chest swelled with embarrassment. "I'm an idiot. Sorry," he says quietly, visibly wincing.

"Don't worry about it," Marin says, and she grabs onto his elbow, dragging him away from the vendor. "You remind me him. It's refreshing. But you're still different. It's just something about the way you hold yourself."

Link furrows his brow. "You mean island boy?"

Marin snorts once again. " _ Yes _ I mean island boy, who else?" She rolls her eyes, dropping his arm. "We never really were together officially, but we were basically dating. We were together all the time when he wasn't off on his adventure."

"Yeah, I think I understand that feeling." He did not, but he could try his best to draw some sort of connection from somewhere. He's almost twenty two, he should have enough experience somewhere for that.

He's not really sure if he keeps aging now that he's dead though. Or now that he's a ghost. Is he forever almost twenty two? He hopes not. It sounds like a knockoff clothing store.

"Sorry, I just wanna get it straight. Are you like..." Link crossed his middle finger over his index finger. "Y'know?"

The red head roller her eyes, but her smile never wavered. "Not since he left me on the island."

"I probably should've expected that." He dragged a hand down his face, and he wishes he could roll his eyes to the back of his head and fall unconscious. "I'm bad at talking. Like in general."

"I can tell."

"Jeez, is it that obvious? I thought I was being sweet." Link brushed his hand down his tunic in an attempt to rid himself of some of his nerves. His nose scrunched up slightly in mild disgust when his fingers brushed a spot on his tunic stained in blood. He needed to find a way to get new clothes.

Marin run ahead of him to the fountain, taking a seat by it, and she hums for a moment in thought. The tune isn't familiar to him, but it makes him think of all the visits to the beach he used to have with his family before he moved to Castle Town. "Oh you're still being very sweet, don't worry. You just ask a lot of questions too, though."

Link tugged at his ear. "Really? Sorry, I never really talked to anyone besides my family and my friend Lana, and I haven't seen my family since I was sixteen, and it's been a minute since I talked to Lana. She's uh..." he looked up at the sky, making a high pitched noise for a moment. "Currently living, so I can't really interact with her. I mean, I'm not sure if I can, but I don't feel like I'm ready to see how she's doing yet with everything, you know?" He took a seat next to Marin on the fountain, resting his elbow on his thigh, not caring at the slight pain that followed.

He didn't mean to make the conversation sad again. Hylia, he really was just bad at talking. That was probably why he always had Proxi do all the talking for him. Drawing attention to himself was always a no go. So embarrassing. That was probably why he hated that fucking tunic so much too, but he wasn't going to dwell on that fact too much. Since he was dead. 

"I think you're thinking too much about it," Marin says with a frown, scratching her cheek. She turns her body to better face Link, her left foot landing in the water of the fountain, just barely reaching her knees. She didn't seem to mind it though. "Do you  _ want _ to go see her?"

"Of course I do," Link sighs, scratching his forehead. "She's my best friend. I fought a war with her. I love her, but I don't know." He turns his body so he's facing Marin, and he pulls his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on his knees as he wrapped his arms underneath his knees, fingers grasping at his forearms. "I think I'm just scared to see how bad she could be. Maybe I'm just scared to find out she doesn't even care and that she isn't mourning over me, you know?"

"Yeah..." Marin pulls at her hair for a moment, running her fingers through her curly locks. "I think I got lucky to have my entire village get wiped out when the world got flooded after the hero disappeared. Like I said, when I woke up we were on an island. It didn't seem like anything changed, so we just kept... living."

"Did you guys even know you were dead?" Link asks quietly. He reaches a hand out to Marin, and she hesitates for a moment before grabbing his with her left hand. Her right hand barely grazed the surface of the fountain water, creating small ripples.

Marin rubs Link's thumb for a moment, half shrugging. "I think we all knew deep down, but because we were all together already we just ignored it. After we all fell asleep when he left, I didn't wake up until just a couple months ago. I've been trying to find someone familiar ever since, but," this time Marin gave him a shrug filled with more energy, "I can't say I've had any luck so far."

Link hums, quietly listening to Marin. A majority of his attention was on the words that she was saying, but a part of him just kept focusing on the touch that she was giving him. "I think we might as well stick together until you find someone you know then, huh?"

She pauses for a moment. "Maybe. I'm gonna end up staying here for awhile until I find them. I might be able to find my dad sooner than I thought though."

Link raised a brow. "We've only been with each other looking for your dad for like an entire day now, and you think we have better luck now? What happened to change that tune of yours?"

She licks her lips, bring her hand out from the water that dripped off of her fingertips. She wrapped his hand in both of hers, but even with both of her hands she almost couldn't cover his one hand. "It's just a feeling. Instinct."

The former captain swallows the lump in his throat. He remembers when he would trust his instinct or gut feeling whenever it felt right. Trusting that feeling was probably what ended up getting him killed in the long run. "Let's hope that you're right and we get to find him soon then, yeah?"

Marin nods excitedly. "Yeah!"

When Link had first met Marin, the sun was going down. When they ended up separating to go do their own things or rest up, the sun was going down again. Link didn't really think that time would be going by so fast, especially since he was fairly certain being dead didn't change a thing.

Maybe Marin was just that enchanting, that enthralling. She had captured his attention when she appeared out of nowhere, and Link barely even noticed when an entire day had passed before he decided that he wanted to take it easy for a little bit.

Marin was wonderful, though. He hopes that he could get to know her, maybe they could figure out what exactly they could be doing as ghosts and stuff. Hell, maybe they could find her dad and just see what he's been doing, same with the rest of her village.

If they managed to just live on an island and was still able to sustain themselves and interact with their environment there, then theoretically speaking, Link should be able to do the exact same thing eventually. Eventually being within the month hopefully, but he had a lot of doubts on how long it would take for him to get used to the whole being dead thing.

He just hopes that he gets to know Marin for a long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> literally there's no plot to this guys im serious this was just me trying to write something for nano but i stopped because there was LITERALLY no plot


	3. Chapter 3

Being dead fucking sucked. Mostly because he didn't even know where to go so he just went to go take a nap in some random person's bed, which caused the person to look around scared and say something about his grandpa which made sense, but it wasn't his problem.

He needed to figure out some sort of routine or something that he could just... get used to doing every now and then. Walking around was starting to get boring and he wished that he had a better understanding over everything that was going on.

Hell, maybe he'll be able to find some random house he likes and just claim it as his own and fuck around until the person who lived there decided to move out. It wasn't a nice thing to do, but at least he would have somewhere to spend his time.

Maybe he'll just find some place that was already empty. That would be the nice thing to do, but he would rather not have to live somewhere covered in dust that he couldn't have taken of. Not to his knowledge anyways.

Link made his way through Castle Town slowly, constantly avoiding walking through people. He knows he could, but after seeing that Zora woman get chills from doing so the other day, it just seemed like the nice thing to do. Not walk through people, that is.

As he made his way to the fountain where he and Marin had disparted, he was slightly disappointed to see that he was there first.

He also considers the fact that he probably should tell Marin his name at one point since he somehow forgot to tell him the other night.

Link sighs, rubbing his eyes for a moment. He hopes that Marin gets here soon. He was starting to get a little bored sitting around. He really needed to figure out what to do when he ends up by himself.

He thinks he's been sitting for around ten minutes and he's about to fall asleep before he gets tackled into a side hug, and there's a loud giggle in his ear, with the sweetest smile he's ever seen in his peripheral vision. "Marin!" He says excitedly, his smile matching Marin's.

She snorts. "Other dead person!" She says, just as excitedly, before bursting out in laughter.

Link flushes brightly. "I forget to tell you my name for like, a day, it's not an easy thing to remember to do okay-"

Marin rolls her eyes as she properly sits next to him. "Whatever you say mystery man, are you gonna tell me your name then or not?"

The hero chews on his bottom lip. He's been going by Link for the past few years just to detach himself from his family. Now that he was dead though... "Ives. My name, that is- it's Ives," he says quietly, the name foreign on his tongue. 

"Ives," Marin hums. She repeated his name over and over, before nodding. "I like it. It suits you."

"Really? It always made me think about chives," Link says absentmindedly.

"Oh yeah for sure makes me think about chives, but it's your name. It's who you are and we should respect that," Marin says, playing with the ends of her hair for a moment before tucking it behind her ear.

"Right? That's what I thought!" They both stood up, and Link ended up bumping his shoulder against Marin's my times than he would like to admit.

They were walking through the marketplace once again, and just like last time they ended up staying longer at the vendor that had the sweets. Link wishes that he was alive so that he could have some of it. Sometimes he just misses food, and he thinks that Marin misses it too.

"So like... what have you been doing?" Link asked as he failed at another attempt to grab something sweet. This time it was just a candy apple. "Since you woke up here, I mean."

Marin shrugs. "Looking for my dad I guess. I've been wandering around so much, I don't think I've been doing anything else  _ beside _ just walk around," she says quietly.

"We'll find him soon, don't worry."

"You think so?"

Link smiles, leaning heavily against her. "Of course. He should be around here somewhere, and if he isn't, then I guess we have the rest of the world to look at too, right?"

"Right." Marin nods, stepping away from the vendor. She rubs her hands together before patting her dress down with a sigh, eyes downcast. "Okay, I think I'm done here."

"Going back to finding your dad already?"

Marin shook her head. "No, I don't think he's here anymore, actually. I think he found his way home. I'll try and go find him on my own. You don't have to come with me" Marin gives him another sad smile as she grabs his hand, and she tilts her head. Her eyes were crinkled, smile lines prominent. "I hope you find what you're looking for though."

Link furrows his brow, not quite understanding what she meant, and he grips Marin's hand back. "Marin, you don't have to find your dad on your own. Let me help you. Please," he says quietly.

She shakes her one last time, before she takes the hibiscus flower out from her hair, placing it in Link's hand. She forces Link's fingers to closer around the stem of the flower. Link is doesn't really process immediately when there are arms wrapped around his neck, and he's confused, pressing his free hand against the small of her back and he extends his occupied hand outwards, brows furrowed in confusion. "You don't need to say goodbye Marin, we can still see each other again, this doesn't have to be the last time you see me, where are you going to go-"

She steps back from the hug, her hands remaining on his shoulders. "I'm glad I got to see you again Link." She pauses, and there are lips pressed lightly against his cheek.

He shakes his head, mouth opening to say something, probably something about how he never gave Marin his chosen name, but all he managed to do was choke out the first syllable of her name before he realized that the pressure over his shoulders was gone, the fiery red of her hair no longer in his vision.

The sounds of the people walking throughout the market filters in, and he swallows the lump in his throat and he brings his clenched hand up to his face.

The red hibiscus was still there, the stem curled in between his fingers. He could barely smell it over the sweets that wafted in the air around him.

He pauses, and reaches hand up to grab his green hat.

Link always hated that hat, hated the green tunic that Impa gave him to wear. He barely even called himself a hero, especially when the Master Sword kept burning his hands and refusing to make it easier for him, with it barely coming out of the pedestal and it continuing to do harm to his body,

He threw the hat to the ground, and he watched as it dissipated. Probably some other ghost thing he had no idea about. It didn't matter- green wasn't really his color anyways.

With a sigh, Link steps away from the vendor, sliding the hibiscus onto his left ear, where it intermingled in his hair, sticking out brightly against his face, standing out.

He played with the stem for a moment, allowing his fingers to brush against the petals, before he dropped his hand back to his side.

It was time for him to finally face the music and seek out Lana just to check up on her and see how she was doing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yall please remember this was a failed nano attempt LAMDFAKJDFHAKJDFH
> 
> also i chose Link to have Ives as is actual name cause it manes "land of heroes" or smth i cant remember, but i was like "wow how intimate would it be"


	4. Chapter 4

Link is a liar.

He knows that he kept telling himself that he was going to go see Lana, that he was just going to check up on her and see how she was doing, but he  _ knows  _ that seeing him would just make him feel horrible.

He still had the hibiscus tucked in his hair, and every now and then he would take it out just to fiddle with. He hasn't seen Marin since. He wonders how she's doing every now and then, but he doubts that he'll ever see her again. She mad the abundantly clear.

Link wonders if this is how Marin felt when she woke up and found out that the boy that introduced her to chocolate left the island without her. He thinks that maybe she confused him for that boy. He knows he would never abandoned someone like that.

Well. He technically abandoned his family when he left to Castle Town.

With a sigh, Link pushes his hair back. Being dead was so boring. He didn't really have anywhere to go, didn't have anything to  _ do _ , it was so frustrating to walk around without a destination in mind, all because he didn't want to see Lana yet. He wasn't ready to see how she was doing.

Having to witness your other half who was also kind of your sister die, and then to see the mangled corpse of your best friend not long after had to be traumatizing. At least for a year. Link wouldn't know anything about that though, he left his family to go be homeless in a city and then died before he could see any of his friends die, so who was  _ really _ winning in this scenario? Not Lana, apparently.

Link passed the old dojo he used to train at, and he considered peaking in for a brief moment, but right as he walked up to the door, he hesitated, and decided not to. Avoiding everyone he knew was kind of his agenda now.

Maybe he'll find some other ghosts. Fuck, maybe he'll see burnt steak guy again soon. He doubted it though. Burnt steak guy was weird.

So was that other Ganondorf lookalike dude that Link thinks might have been a past life version of the Ganondorf that killed him. Dude had a sick ass cape with some super short hair. He had some bushy eyebrows too that Link wanted to pluck, but Ganondorf #2 just... stared at him when they first "met".

When Link first saw Ganondorf, the first thing he noticed was a bright mark on his forehead that stuck out compared to his dark skin. It had the same outline that Link saw when he embedded his sword into his Ganondorf's gem.

The second thing he noticed was the gut wrenching sorrow and remorse that struck this Ganondorf's face when he looked at Link, and the suddenly raised bushy eyebrows that met his red hair, the brief moment where that Ganondorf just looked  _ horrified _ before turning away and disappearing into the crowd.

Link hasn't met that many other ghosts. Burnt steak guy didn't count. Marin left him feeling lost. He wonders if meeting this old Ganondorf would turn out to be a mistake waiting to happen.

There was something different about this Ganondorf compared to the one that... killed him and stole from him. He wanted to know why this Ganondorf felt so much remorse.

It was when Link had decided to walk through the marketplace one more time, reminiscing of the brief time that he spent with Marin, did he finally see the other Ganondorf. The man had still adorned his robes, looking at fruit.

Link watches in fascination as Ganondorf conversed with the man, before handing him a red rupee in exchange for the apples.

He ran forward, hand going up to cover his ear to make sure the flower never fell off, he reached outwards to Ganondorf, his small hand grabbing onto his large biceps. "Excuse me-"

Ganondorf flinches harshly, before staring down at Link with wide eyes filled with turmoil. Link let go immediately. "Sorry, I just- I've seen you around, and I wanted to know how you got that," he finishes, pointing at the bag of apples that the Gerudo was holding. "I haven't been here that long, I'm kind of new to this thing, and I haven't-"

Ganondorf raised his hand up, and Link took it as a sign to stop rambling and shut his mouth. "What is your name?" Ganondorf says, and Link thinks that maybe Ganondorf is mistaking him for someone else.

"Ives, but I go by Link," he held a hand out, and he can't help the anxiety that stretches out over his chest and down his legs as he waited.

Ganondorf gripped Link's head, shaking it, before dropping his hand. "I am Ganondorf, although I'm sure you know of me already."

"Uhm.... Yeah. Not like he was you specifically, but a different version of him. I was killed by my Ganondorf at the same time I killed him," Link briefly explained. He shuffled from one foot to the other. "I- sorry, is there something else I can call you?"

"Ghitamm would work perfectly, thank you." Ghitamm nodded, looking around for a brief moment. He took an apple out of his bag, handing it over to Link as delicately as he could. "I've seen you walking around before. I did not think you ever saw me, much less even want to approach me."

Link thins his lips. "You just seemed... different. Than the Ganondorf that I had to deal with. I don't know," he mumbles, giving Ghitamm a half shrug. "He was..."  _ a thief  _ is the first thing that came to Link's mind, and he unconsciously rubs his chest. He never did end up getting his piece of his Triforce back. He thinks, maybe if he had lived, that he would've been whole again. "Cunning," he finishes quietly. "And selfish. He had every reason to be as confident as he was. Fighting him..." Link thinks back to his countless battles with Ganondorf. When he was knocked down and concussed begging for the Gerudo to not take his piece of his Triforce, not again, and in his second battle when he was bruised and broken, moments before the last thing he saw was the bottom of Ganon's hoof.

Ghitamm nods, letting out a small sigh. "As expected. When I was alive, I grew to power, and aimed to conquer the Great Sea. Many people who wield the Triforce of Power aim to destroy and rebuild their own empire. To have the power and control to do whatever they desire." He frowns as he continues to walk, Link trailing behind him carefully. "Many Gerudo men end up with this piece of the Triforce for a reason."

"Are you born with it?" Link asks, tring to match Ghitamm's pace. The man had longer strides, much longer limbs compared to Link. In general just  _ more _ than Link. "I know the Triforce of Wisdom is born into the royal family typically. Are you born with yours as well?"

"Yes and no. I believe I had always had it with me, but I don't think I was ever able to use its true power until I began to work towards my potential."

Link frowns. "Why were you trying to take over?"

Ghitamm sighs. "The island I grew up in was far away from the islands, and we lacked proper nourishment. We never had any proper trades open with the other islands because we had nothing to contribute that they didn't already have. We never even really had a way off of the island. I wanted to help my people more than anything." The Gerudo glances into his bag for a moment, and Link watches the man tilt his head for a moment, brows furrowing for a moment. His features softened, and he looked back at Link. "I wanted to rid the world of the ocean so that we could rebuild and give my people a better chance at life. Before I could do so, another man had appeared, and wished for the ocean to remain, and for the people to rebuild above."

"How... how is all of this possible then? There was never any mention of an ocean or- or some Hyrule that existed below the ocean," Link stutters, nose scrunching up slightly. "Marin mentioned that she lived below the flood and then a drought. There's no way that an entire ocean managed to just... disappear and make the former Hyrule appear."

The other man hums in thought, and gives Link a shrug. "You're guess is as good as mine. My people are thriving now. That's all that matters to me."

There was a pause of silence between theme, "Was there someone like me that fought you?"

Ghitamm stops in his steps, and Link would've bumped into someone else if he wasn't already dead. "Yes. He was young, not even close to being an adult," he explains quietly. Ghitamm touches his forehead for a moment, right where his scar was, before dropping his hand to his sides. "He was the only person stopping me from achieving my goals. I managed to take him down with one strike, and just one more and I would have gotten everything I've ever wanted."

"Did you do it?" Link asks, avoiding eye contact with Ghitamm. He wonders how many other holders of the Triforce of Courage had perished in battle with someone like Ghitamm. "Did you kill him?"

"Almost," Ghitamm whispers. "I could never harm a child, let alone one who was only trying to save his sister, just like how I was trying to help my people." The noise around them never ceased, people walking through them without a care as they went home to their loved ones, or heading to work. Some simply just walking around and watching. "But I was corrupt with power then, and he was too confident, too ambitious. His Zelda was what saved him that night. Not my restraint."

The Gerudo had his eyes downcast, slightly wide, lips parted. His words were quiet and tumbled out through parted lips, as if on accident as Ghitamm retells his story. "He looked so terrified, and I think seeing him like that... I never expected that the hero trying to stop me would be a child. That I would have to fight children. There was always tales told to me when I was young, of a brave hero with years of experience who would fight a great evil and win." Ghitamm furrows his brow, glancing down at Link, studying him for a moment. "He was just a child, wanting to find his sister. He could barely even hold his sword right. The Goddess' chose a  _ child  _ to fight their battle. He didn't deserve the punishment of death."

"I don't think anyone does."

"You'd be surprised," Ghitamm says, blinking away. "There are people more than willing to rid the world of any peace and light it has to offer. Be careful." Ghitamm looks down at Link, and Link feels like he's a little boy again, looking up at his father and making grabby hands, wanting to go onto his dad's shoulders so he could finally be tall.

He swallows the thick lump ins his throat. "Why didn't they know that what they were doing was wrong? Like what you did?" He says, and he pinches at his pants, resisting the urge to take the hibiscus out from his ear so he could fidget with it.

"They knew what they were doing was wrong," Ghitamm explains. The Gerudo looks around for a moment, before turning in a certain direction, ready to walk away from the conversation, from Link. "They just had no qualms against harming anyone who came in their way. Children included."

Link feels like he's been thrown into the bottom of the lake, with concrete wrapped around his feet and fire burning his lungs. His head feels light. "How were they stopped then?"

Ghitamm shrugs. "You'll have to find and ask them yourself, hero. They hide themselves from everyone, myself included, so you might not find them anytime soon. Even then, I doubt that you will find the answer that you're looking for." Ghitamm glances once more at Link. "I must be leaving you know. Best of luck to you."

"I- wait, how can I find you again?" Link asks, grabbing onto Ghitamm's robes for a moment. "You know, just in case."

The Gerudo quirked an eyebrow at him. "You'll see me around, most likely." The man grabbed Link's hand, removing it from his robe. "Do not fret."

Link pouts, but he doesn't raise up any complaints as he crosses his arms over his chest. "Don't tell me what to do," he grumbles, and Ghitamm laughs at his childish behavior.

The Gerudo and the Hylian exchanged farewells, and promises to see each other again soon.

Link feels like the meeting with Ghitamm went a lot better than expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> google said Ghitamm meant "a great vast ocean" so i decided that that's what ww ganon should be called


	5. Chapter 5

The former captain still hasn't went to visit Lana.

He knows he should, knows that even after death he should be there to comfort her.

Link just isn't sure how much time has actually passed since his death. He knows that when he died the flowers had already bloomed and left, with the trees appearing more green than ever as he began to sweat in uniform.

It felt like he just blinked when the leaves turned to odd shades that made him feel nauseous. Falling leaves soon turned to snow that left him blinded from the sun that reflected off of it, and all of a sudden the flowers were in bloom once again.

He should be twenty two by now.

His anniversary should be coming up sometime soon. Anniversary of his death, anyways.

Link hates the fact that the way he's living now was like a reflection of how he used to live when he just moved to Castle Town. Alone with nowhere to go.

Except this time now he doesn't have anything to  _ do _ when things get worse. He can't go and join the military and just hope he lives for a long enough time where he can find a home and get a good enough retirement that'll last him until he actually kicked the bucket.

But now he's maybe twenty two and he's been dead for almost a year. Plans change, and Link is honestly more upset at the fact that he didn't even know what the fuck to do now than the fact that he was dead.

He ended up camping out in some people's homes. He's been alternating between some, just until he decides which one he likes more and he'll decide if he'll want to squat there or not.

Link also ended up talking to Ghitamm more often. For around a month he had stayed with Ghitamm as a temporary roommate, and the Gerudo taught the man how to actually solidify himself so he could grab things from the other side.

Real interesting stuff. Lotta technical terms he couldn't remember, but he got the general idea of it. For the most part, anyways. He wasn't going to lie when he said he missed eating.

He just wishes he knew how to become tangible so that he could've gotten some sweets and other pastries before Marin left to go find her father. He hasn't seen her since, and he doesn't think he will.

The hibiscus still remained place on his ear, tucked in his hair. It hasn't decayed one bit since the day Marin gave it to him.

As each day passes, though, the more he forgets. His memory was already poor, and with the added fact of being dead and going more than half a year like it was a month wasn't really helping.

He could barely remember what Impa sounded like, and just the other day Link couldn't recall the name for Princess Zelda's alter-ego.

It was a problem. A problem that he couldn't really solve or do anything about it, though. He just had to cope with it. Ghitamm said it was normal to forget things from when they were alive, but he's just mad because there were so many precious memories he had that he could potentially forget now.

Being dead was unfair, but then again, when was the world ever fair to him?

Link had also saw charred steak guy roaming around here and there too. Always glaring at him, with his hair floating up above his head in whisps, leaving him to wonder why the man would go through the extra effort to just.... do that. As well have super buff abs. since if he could manipulate how is hair looked, then what else could he manipulate? Definitely his muscles, that's for sure. But then again, Link couldn't judge. He would do the same.

He just didn't really understand why charred steak guy never wore a shirt. He just seemed to always be wielding a sword and wearing shorts, and he always seemed to either be watching everyone around him so that he would attack them at a later point, or maybe he was just lonely wanted someone that he could talk to.

Link wishes he had the balls to go up to some stranger and just start talking to them and become their friend. Too bad that there was the threat of the aforementioned stranger being one of the people who wanted nothing more than to just.... end the world for everyone just because they  _ could _ .

Sometimes he thinks he sees charred steak guy talking to himself. But also maybe he was talking to someone passing by, or just trying to telepathically send his message so that Link could understand him without them directly having to speak to each other.

Such a read weird guy though. Link couldn't help but image how long steak guy had been there. Definitely longer than Link and Ghitamm, but then again Ghitamm was only one of two ghosts that he actually got to meet. The other ghost being Marin, but he was at a point where he wasn't even sure what she was.

She kind of just disappeared from his afterlife, and Link thinks that maybe he needs to let go of her eventually. Which was fine. Not really. But yeah.

He just hopes that she's happy, wherever she is, doing whatever it is that she wanted to. Become a seagull our something like that. At least, that what she said she wanted to be when they had talked the day away.

"Stop thinking about her dumbass," Link groans loudly as he scratches his nose. He was in 'his' apartment, which really was just an alive person's house (he couldn't even remember the guys name, he just knows that he lives there now basically), but he typically just hung out here. There being on a couch. In his house that wasn't really his house.

Wow, what a way to live. Truly something that he should be looking forward to all the time. Truly outstanding, one of his best performances yet, and he isn't even really sure what the fuck he's doing. Link is just flying by the seam of his pants, and somehow that keeps working.

Whatever. C’est la vie and all that jazz. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao i forgot this existed


	6. Chapter 6

It was when Link finally left his home and take a shortcut to the marketplace did he finally see charred steak guy.

Not from his peripheral vision, not from just a glance or a rumor from Ghitamm, but  _ really _ see him.

Standing in front of him, hair bright and set aflame, yet providing no light. His red eyes bore holes into Link's chest, and the hero felt like he never got paid enough for this bullshit. He felt like he was being blamed for something he never did. "Can I help you?" Link asks, trying to keep his confidence up. He feels tired, feels like if this man didn't move now, then he wouldn't go grab flowers and go see Lana finally.

The man grunts, eyes narrowing. "Move."

"Fine, but not because you told me to," Link grumbles, walking past the man. He made sure to shoulder check charred steak man, just to make sure the man knew that he wasn't scared of him, and that if he had beef he wasn't scared cause he was a vegetarian now. As of right now, at that very moment. "Ass," he whispers underneath his breath, and he pretends that the much taller and bigger man wasn't about to just kill him.  _ Again _ . If ghosts could even be killed again.

That didn't matter though. He needed to see Lana. Too much time has passed. The anniversary of his death was today. He needed to see her now. It's been too long, too many long nights sat around wondering how his best friend was doing, wondering if she had managed to move on at this point.

More than anything, though, Link wonders if Lana still thinks about him.

So he steals a vase, and a bundle of small blue flowers that he forgot the name of. He thinks Lana would like them. Blue was always her favorite color, and she would tell him about how much she enjoyed seeing so many different flowers whenever ventured to a new place during the war.

Link places the flower in the vase. He considers place the flower Marin gave him in the vase, but he hesitates, and decides not to.

He ends up tying a ribbon around the stems of the flowers. It was red. Ghitamm gave it to him not too long ago, along with a blue ribbon. He said something about never needing to use it and that it was just collecting dust, so Link didn't ask anymore questions than that.

He doesn't know where to find Lana.

He checks his grave first. There was always a bouquet of his favorite flowers against his gravestone. Link doesn't bother to read what was etched into the stone. It wasn't his business, how people thought of him after death.

He places a finger on top of the stone, running his hand hand over the carvings of the words, before he departs from the graveyard.

Link ended up staying a little bit longer to pay respect to his other fallen men.

The next spot he checks is the castle. He isn't surprised when he only finds Zelda, Impa, and the other people who work and roam the castle floors. He really was hoping that Lana was there.

He walks around the Castle Town idly, vase in hand as he looks through windows and walked into houses just to see if she was there.

Which, obviously, she wasn't anywhere to be found. No big deal. Pssh. Whatever.

Link decided to start looking outside of the walls.

Well, he decided to go and visit where Cia was "buried". It was just a chunk of Lana's hair, but it was the thought that counts.

And of course, she there, kneeling in front of the tree.

Her hair, which used to be at her waist before she cut below her ears, now reached the middle of her back. She was sniffling.

Her attired casual. Her hair was down, instead of her usual ponytail.

She was beautiful. Still is. He just wishes that he could tell her that upfront.

With a sigh, he elects to just... go hide the vase behind the tree. The vase was a bad idea, so now he had nowhere to put it. Whatever. He'll just pretend it never existed and Lana would never know it was there to begin with. It's fine. Fucking ghost vase.

Squeezing the bouquet, he takes small steps towards Lana, before he lowers himself to take a seat next to Lana, and it feels like his joints are aching.

"Hi Lana," Link says quietly, bringing one leg up to rest his arm on while the other laid flat on the ground. The bundle of flowers was held in a tight grip, his fingers red as his hands shook. He was tense, and he was trying not to just get up and leave, even though he knew Lana couldn't hear or see him. "I hope you're doing okay. You look... you look a lot better."

Of course there was no response. Lana was never one to talk during visitations anyways. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tightly as she hid the lower half of her face, studying the tree that they buried Cia underneath.

It was a really nice tree though, to be fair.

"I haven't seen Cia around, you know," Link continues. He shifts positions, moving closer to Lana. "I think... I think she might be with Marin, honestly. I don't even know what Marin is though," he says quietly, finishing his sentence with a shrug. "She kind of left me. I wish I could've talked to you about her. You would've loved her. She had the voice of a siren. She kind of just disappeared on me, like her ex did to her. I wonder if it's for the best, you know?"

Link thinks he sees Lana nods, but that was just her sniffling, burying her head further into her knees. Her shoulders began to shake as she repressed her sobs.

Link sighs. "I'm sorry I'm not here for you Lana. I wish I could make it up to you." He leans against Lana, well, the best he could lean against Lana, anyways.

He wish he was strong like Ghitamm so that he could show himself to Lana.

He blinks slowly, placing the bundle of flowers on top of Cia's grave.

It takes Lana a moment to notice, and when she does she blinks, rubbing her eyes.

Link feels broken when Lana starts to sob violently and he can't do anything to comfort her. So he cries with her. Cries because he knows he died too young, knows that while he died so that the people of Hyrule could prosper, it came at the risk of the life he just started to have. Cries because he knows he can't help Lana, cries because he know he won't be seeing Lana again for a long time. Cries because he knows Marin isn't going to come back because she abandoned him here.

Cries because he knows his family isn't going to see their son who left them six years prior because his ambition was larger than him.

Cries because he just wants to be with Lana right now to comfort her.

So he wraps his arms around her, arms draping over her shoulder as he presses her head against the back of her neck, and he's not sure if she's shaking because of the cold or because of the sobs that wreck her chest.

But Lana hugs herself, and her hands are against her arms, but Link knows that if he was actually there, then she would be touching his arm and leaning into his embrace.

And Link cries with Lana because he knows that this was the closest he was ever going to get to actually touching and talking to her in awhile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lmao sorry I forgot this existed anyways that’s it kay bye

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally for nano but im too busy with work and school i just do not have the time to write 50k so the most i could do was 10k


End file.
